Meanwhile, that was me.

　I was running incessantly outside.
　I've strengthened my legs with a pure aura of unmeaningfulness, so I can run faster than a horse and seem to be able to run a thousand miles in the blink of an eye.

　Where are we going in such a hurry to go to, it's towards the border.
　The border between human and demon territory.
　If you ask me what I want to do in such a place, what I'm aiming for is the Rasperda Fortress, to be precise.

　It was the one that served as a gate that stood in the border between the two sides.

''That's the most important stronghold of the demon tribe that's closest to the enemy territory right now.......!

　If someone claiming to be the Ida of "Heaven and Earth" is really related to the demon race, then there's a high possibility that they entered human territory via the Lasperda Fortress.

　If we take a look at the area, we might be able to find out what happened.
　If I could find out the details of what happened, it might help Radhi and the others.

　With this in mind, I set out for the area.
　I've left Marika, Gran and the others in the care of Arantzill at the Center Guild, because it's not safe to do so.

The only thing I can think of is that it's a good idea to have Zebiantes in the fortress, and if we can successfully capture them, we can make them spit out all over the place.......

　The specifics will come when we arrive.

　So, I'm running with the gun.
　It's about time to get closer to the border. I slowed down a bit and looked at the scenery around me.
　It's all forest and mountains, but the terrain starts to look a little familiar to me.

　We're almost to Rasperda Fortress.

"If we can just get past that pass...!

　
　With that in mind, I look at the top of the pass, the open view....

"...that!

　Not there?
　No fortress of Rasperda?

　Why is it gone?
　It's supposed to be standing right between those mountains!　It's not here!

"Did I take a wrong turn?

　The first thing I suspected was that I was mistaken.

　It's not possible for such a huge fortress to be blown around by the wind and roll somewhere, so that's the only thing common sense can tell you.

　I look forward.
　I look behind me.
　The landscape matched my memories of the past perfectly.

　The direction of the sun, the direction of the wind.
　There is no doubt about it.

　This is the area where Rasperda Fortress is supposed to be.
　Why isn't there a fortress?

"We'll just have to get closer and see what happens...?

　I didn't want to get too close for the guards to see us, so I wanted to avoid getting too close.

　But if I tried to get more information, it was the only way.
　I cautiously tried to approach the fortress while hiding in the landscape.

◆

　And I was even more surprised.

"The fortress is gone...?

　There was a fortress right here.
It was here.

　It was in the past, but not anymore.
　The place where the fortress was once located is now just a miserable burned-out area, exposing the plain.

''What the hell really happened?

　Rasperda Fortress is a huge structure that ranks first or second in the demon territory.
　What kind of maximum annihilation magic is used to blow it up...?

"What did I do.......is it fire magic.......?

　I judged that from the heat still rising from the scorch marks.
　If that is the case, then Granberza-sama?
　No, even as expected of Granberza-sama, there's no way that even a Granberza-sama would be able to cause extreme flames that would vaporize an entire fortress, and there's no reason to blow up a fortress.

　When I was stunned to see the impossible in front of me....

''Granberza-sama!　You can't die!　He's dead!
No, it's okay.　He was treated well and he's in perfect condition. ....You can't just kill me like that!

　I can hear him screaming in the distance.
　...what is it now, Lady Granbertha?

　I leaped without an arrow or shield, and ran towards the direction of the voice.
　........There it was.

　A makeshift field base has been placed in the rear plain near the demon territory, which has been evacuated from the burned-out ruins.
　A lot of soldiers are coming and going in a hurry.....
　Among them.........?

Granberza-sama!

　That man, the one who should be called the other father, was lying there.
　Moreover, his whole body was badly injured.
　Although he was properly treated and bandaged, the painfulness of his body was palpable enough.

''.........Is it Dariel.......?''

　Granbaza-sama reacted firmly to me running up to him.
　I'm not going to be the only one who can do that.

Oh, it's Dariel!
It's Dariel!

　Everyone around me knows I'm here, and I'm drawing attention.
　I don't even have time to miss returning to my old home after a long time.

'Granbaza-sama, that injury...?　What in the world happened to you!''
''The fact that you came here means that something happened on the human side as well, right?　.........Dariel, listen to me mind you.......!

　Lady Glambarza tried to speak in a scolding way, her lips tightening in injury.

"Listen to me, Dariel!

　Then the guy who doesn't read the air intervened.
　''You're the Four Heavenly Kings of the Wind and you don't read the air!

It's the Inferno guy.
"What?

　As soon as I heard that, my fears were confirmed.
　The red-cloaked monster that I cut down in the forest near Lax village.

　It is true that I killed him, but I couldn't really feel that it was over just like that, and it stuck in my throat to this day.

'He's alive...?　No, there was a fellow who wore the same cloak?
He doesn't know!　He blazes the chains and blazes the fire!　Lady Granberza is badly injured, and no one else can help her!　And then a clay figure like Droyer's predecessor appears, and after a few minutes of mumbling and gnashing, the fortress disappears with a bang!
"Calm down!

　Zebiantes was confused.

Dariel, you must calm down. Okay, I'll do the talking.

　From the beginning, Granbaza-sama was going to talk to me, but Zebiantes was going to go off on a tangent, so I couldn't go on with the conversation.

　The explanation from Granbaza-sama was neatly organized and came in easily, but even so, the content of the story was beyond comprehension, no matter how hard it was to swallow.

''Valhalla........?　And hell....?
''That's right, it seems that the true identity of the Inferno or something like that is the Four Heavenly Kings of the past who escaped from hell. A guilt-ridden outsider who deserves to go to hell.
'The Ida of 'Heaven and Earth' was sent from Valhalla to pursue it...?

　Oh my God.
　So you're saying that the Ida of Tenchi, who is now advancing through human territory with her own hands, is the real deal?

''........Inferno has escaped to human territory. The Ida-sama of "Heaven and Earth" may have followed it and entered the city, but...

　Lady Granberza choked on her words.

　I can understand why.
It was about seven hundred years ago when the Ida of "Heaven and Earth" was alive. In that era, there was no unwritten law of mutual inviolability like we have now, and it was a time of true warfare in the true sense of the word.
　Not only the brave men and the Four Heavenly Kings, but any human and demon race that could fight went to the front lines and fought bloody battles everywhere.
　It was a time when it was normal for tens of thousands of deaths to occur in a year.

''........What would happen if someone who lived in such an era strolled through enemy territory in the mood of those days!　Even if that person had no ill will, it would be an unprecedented catastrophe. If he's not careful, it could lead to another all-out war!
"Yes. .... yes!
'Dariel, this is not the place to be selling oil!　You must go after Ida-sama now and stop him. You're the only one with the ability to stop that one!
I understand!

　I stand up.
　Things had become even worse than I had imagined.
　What's worse is that Ida-sama from 'Heaven and Earth' was real!

"What, Dariel...?

　The woman who came running up to me.
　I've seen her before.
　She's one of the current Four Heavenly Kings, the Droyer of the Iwo Jima.

Are you sure it's Dariel?　Where the hell have you been all this time...?
Why have we been stuck here?

　Before I jumped out of the way, I asked one question.
　I knew that the Rasperda Fortress had been destroyed by the Inferno and the guards had been thrown into a place like this.

'But then why are we still hanging around here?　Maybe we should retreat more and hunker down at a nearby base?
"That's...?　But we have to stop the heroes.　Even if we lose the fortress...!
''Idiot!''

　Droyer's thin shoulders trembled.

''Now that we've lost our fortress, how can we stay here and have any defense at all!　Most importantly, it's the human race that will be damaged by the loss of the fortress!
'What?　Huh?
''The Rasperda Fortress was originally built by humans to provide logistical support for the brave men who were invading the demon tribe's territory. I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this. Have you forgotten that I taught you that?

　The Rasperda Fortress was what the human race needed, and if it disappeared without a trace, the human race would have to rethink the route to defeat the demon king from scratch.

The human side is in turmoil right now with the 'Heaven and Earth' Ida invading the country. The most important thing for a leader to do now is to take advantage of this confusion and rebuild the army!
''Yes, yes...!

　I was just being harsh with my words.
　Mr. Aranziel's fierce spirit has moved into me.

You can't keep a large number of people here in the middle of the field without any food," he said. The entire demon army must fall back and share the situation with the rest of the army. You'll be able to set up a field base to replace your fortress after that.
Okay, okay...?
Bring Lady Granberza to a proper resting place. You got it.

　After finishing my instructions, I ran off again.
　It's a pontoontoon towards the human territory.

　Had Radey already made contact with the Ida of 'Heaven and Earth'?
　I hope you're not taking too long.